Touching history in Georgia - Days 217 to 220 - Savannah, GA

Life is good.  The fact that I'm writing about our Savannah adventures today (Friday 5/20), when they occurred over a week ago, tells you a little about our level of activity.  Stated simply, we are always on the go.  So, now it's catch-up time.

During our stay in Savannah, we took an architectural walking tour; visited the historical Green Meldrin Home, where General Sherman stayed while his army occupied Savannah; visited the Owens Thomas House, where General the Marquis de LaFayette stayed; visited Tybee Island; visited the Wormsloe Plantation; and, finally, visited Fort Pulaski.

Our visit to Wormsloe Plantation provided perspective on the settlement of Georgia and the city of Savannah, its colonial capitol, and, to some degree, the history of the United States.  The 90 or so settlers who arrived in what was to become Savannah in 1733 included Noble Jones, his wife and two children and James Edward Oglethorpe the "on site" representative of the Trustees to whom the English King had granted a charter.  These settlers, actually debtors who had been inprisoned, had been given free passage to the new world, land to farm and farming tools in exchange for paying taxes to the Trustees (who we assume would then pay a percentage to the King).

One other important purpose of the settlement of Georgia was to create a buffer between the South Carolina and the Spanish in Florida.  Savannah was strategically located just south of the Savannah River which creates the natural border with South Carolina.

The Charter granted to the Trustees had three significant provisions.  First, it limited the amount of land granted to each settler.  Second, it restricted the use of alcohol and third, it prohibited the ownership of slaves.  You might call it one of the social experiments of it's time.  The view was that these debtors would earn their living by the sweat of their labor.  All three provisions were later modified.  The ban on Slavery, in particular, was revoked in 1749.

The town of Savannah was founded by James Oglethorpe and surveyed by Noble Jones (who later also surveyed Augusta and other towns).  Jones was granted 500 acres on the Isle of Hope along the inland waters by the Trustees in 1745 for the purpose of erecting a fortified home to protect access to Savannah by the Spanish from the sea.  Oglethorpe also allotted Jones a 12 man marine garrison and a small boat. Jones went on to found Wormsloe Plantation and to this day, his descendants still live on a section of the original property.

Note: Jones was somewhat of a Renaissance man.  During his life he served as a farmer, surveyor, physician, Indian agent, soldier, member of the Royal Council, treasurer and senior justice of the province.  Jones died in 1775 just before the Revolutionary War.  Wormsloe is now a Georgia State Historical site. 

The photos below show the ruins of Jones' fortified home.  The home was made of tabby, a crude concrete made from lime, sand, water and oyster shells.

Tabby ruins of Noble Jones fortified home

Another view of the fortified home

The road leading into Wormsloe is unique.  In the 1890s the Jones descendant, Wimberly Jones DeRenne planted 400 oak trees to create the "oak avenue."

Spectacular Oak Avenue planted in 1890

Now back to Savannah.  As mentioned earlier, James Oglethorpe founded the Savannah and created the city plan, which was built around four square parks.  As the city expanded the number of park squares increased to twelve.  These squares add to the charm of the city.

Below are some photos from the architectural tour we took the day after our arrival.  The photos show that Savannah's historical district is alive and vibrant. 

Slave quarters by the waterfront

Kodi, as usual, made new friends.  In this case, a young girl walked with Kodi through most of the architectural tour.

We toured two homes, the Green Meldrin House and the Owens Thomas House.  Both guided tours were excellent and informative.  Unfortunately, both restricted photos (I don't really get it).

Major General William Tecumseh Sherman used the Green Meldrin house as his headquarters at the conclusion of his army's March to the Sea.  It was from this house that he presented Savannah to Abraham Lincoln as a Christmas gift and issued Special Field Order #15, which granted freed slaves 40 acres of land and a mule.  The order was subsequently overturned by President Andrew Johnson.  This single action set back African American efforts to gain economic independence.

The Owens Thomas House hosted General the Marquis de LaFayette when he visited Savannah in 1825 as the guest of the city.  Lafayette was the Revolutionary War's last surviving general officer.  He made two public speeches from the balcony of this house.  Lafayette came to the colonies at 21 and volunteered his services to the Continental Congress.  He became the youngest general and commanded successfully in several important battles.  He also returned to France and lobbied the King for additional support for the patriots.

This home also had slave quarters with original artifacts.

Salve Quarters at the Owens Thomas House

Our final adventure was a visit to Fort Pulaski on Wednesday (5/12).  Fort Pulaski is located between Savannah and Tybee Island. It was built along with other forts on the Eastern Seaboard, including Fort Sumpter, at the order of President James Madison after the existing forts along the coast proved ineffective against British assaults in the War of 1812.  The fort was named after Casimir Pulaski, a Revolutionary War hereo who died from wounds sustained in the Battle of Savannah

Fort Pulaski

Construction of the fort began in 1829.  It was finally completed 18 years later in 1847.  This was a massive undertaking as we learned from the Park Ranger who conducted the tour.  The fort had walls that were eleven feet thick and were designed to be impregnable to the largest land artillery, which at the time were smooth bore cannon.  Robert E. Lee was involved in the fort's construction shortly after his graduation from West Point with an engineering degree.  The fort was built on marsh land and required a foundation of 70 foot pilings driven into the mud by steam pile drivers.  Total cost of construction was over $1,000,000.

Model showing the 70 foot pilings that provide the fort's foundation

The tour of this fort was the best to date.  The Park Ranger was engaging and the displays were set up to help the visitor understand the complicated process of building the fort, mounting the guns, the state of cannon gunnery at the beginning of the Civil War and the game changing two day battle in April of 1861.

Cannon in firing position

Cannon position after recoil

The fort was occupied by the Georgia Militia in 1860 shortly after South Carolina seceded from the Union. Following the secession of Georgia in February of 1861, the fort was manned by Confederate Troops under the command of Colonel Charles Olmstead.  It is noteworthy that at the time, the Confederate Army abandoned Tybee Island as it was though too difficult to defend.  This proved to be a massive error.  Union forces under the command of Colonel Quincy A. Gilmore set up batteries along the beaches of Tybee Island and attacked the fort.  Colonel Olmstead surrendered the fort (April of 1861) after two days of intense shelling by the Union's new rifled cannons.  Technology had caught up with the fort and the new rifled cannon were able to penetrate the fort's 11 foot impregnable walls.  Olmstead had the good sense to surrender after shells came to close to the powder magazine.  Only two soldiers were killed in this battle; one from each side.

Damage to the fort's walls.  Note the new brick to the right

Note: Over 600,000 Americans were killed in the Civil War making it the bloodiest war in American History.

The visit to Savannah prompted me to read Common Sense by Thomas Paine.  This book, which is credited with helping to strengthen American resolve, was eye opening.  Paine made an easy to understand case for why the colonies needed to be free of the English King and even more interesting, had clear vision of the potential of America.

I also researched the War of 1812, which started when the United States declared war on Great Brittan.  It ended in a draw (but due to the unevenness of the powers, was really a victory for the US) and read the Articles of Confederation and the Confederate Constitution, which enshrines slavery with the following provision.

No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law denying or impairing the right of property in negro slaves shall be passed [by Congress]

All of which helped me better understand the founding of the United States and the inherent problem of question of slavery that could not have been resolved in 1776 as it would have derailed the formation of our country.

Written by Les